


Trouble Magnet

by lilacsigil



Category: Ms. Marvel (Comics), Young Avengers
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-04-30
Packaged: 2018-03-26 11:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3849229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacsigil/pseuds/lilacsigil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The weirdest things happen on rooftops, not to mention in Bruno's auntie's kitchen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trouble Magnet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paperclipbitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperclipbitch/gifts).



Seriously, though, who would have thought that being a superhero attracted trouble? Kamala could have counted on one hand the number of times she'd seen real trouble before she started being Ms Marvel, and now she saw it everywhere.

She ducked behind the dumpster and quickly pulled off her coat, t-shirt and jeans to expose her costume, then slapped her mask on. She hastily shoved her clothes in her backpack and dropped it beside the dumpster, hoping no-one stole it while she was gone. 

"Ms Marvel is here to save the day!" she yelled, and looped a long arm around the big shouty guy. He was threatening a scantily-dressed young woman who was probably a hooker, but Kamala didn't like to jump to conclusions. 

With a hard pull, she yanked him off his feet and flat on his back on the sidewalk, where he groaned and dropped the gun he had had lightly concealed in his pocket. Kamala stretched out a leg and kicked it away from his hand, as Wolverine had said to do when she saw a weapon, then put her foot on his chest. She was still wearing her sneakers instead of her boots, but hopefully the whole superhero thing was intimidating enough. The gun slid across the sidewalk and down the drain. Maybe a giant alligator would eat it. 

"It is NEVER okay to hit a woman," she told the guy, trying to channel Amma's authority as best she could. 

"Okay, geez, let me up," the guy muttered sulkily, as a car full of teenagers going past slowed down to laugh and point. 

"Woooooo, Ms Marvel!" one of them yelled, and Kamala waved back,   
fighting the urge to shake her hair forward to hide her face better. Surely the great big mask was enough!

"I hope you learned your lesson!" After checking that the scantily-dressed woman had fled to safety, she let him up and hurried off to find her bag. It hadn't been stolen, but there was a giant pigeon poop right next to it. 

"Ew." Kamala snatched up her bag and checked it for pigeon backsplash, and was about to change back into her regular clothes when she heard someone say her superhero name. 

"Yeah, it was Ms Marvel right here! She beat up that asshole who's always hanging on the corner after school. I think she went this way!"

She stretched out her arms, backpack on her shoulder, and grabbed the fire escape a floor above, pulling herself up then sprinting for the roof. By the time she was up there, she could see some kids by the dumpster, including two with phones out ready to take a picture. 

"Aw, the Daily Bugle pays like ten bucks for a good shot," one of them complained. They looked around for a few moments in case Ms Marvel appeared, but since she didn't, they wandered off. 

"Phew!" She got back to her feet and grabbed her jeans from her bag. 

"What are you doing on my roof?" came a voice from behind her. A scary voice. A scary female voice.

"Don't shoot! I'm just, uh, saving the day! For a woman in trouble!" Kamala tried to sound as heroic as possible, but her pitch of her voice kept climbing in a very unheroic way. This never happened to Wolverine, she was pretty sure. 

"Sure, fine, no problem." 

"Really?" Kamala swung around to see a tall, solid girl wearing a hoodie and shorts, standing in the middle of the roof. 

"Yeah, I've met superheroes, no big deal."

"Cool! Me too! I met Wolverine and also Spider-Man! Who did you meet?"

America shrugged. "My moms are superheroes in another dimension, so you get to meet a few. You probably haven't heard of them, though. Because of the other dimension."

"Wow, that's so awesome! I don't think I've met anyone from another dimension before." Kamala grinned. "Are you a superhero too?"

"I'm thinking about my options."

Kamala looked around for a moment to see what these options might be, and instead saw an iron lean-to balanced against the chimney. "Oh no, you're living on this roof? I'm so sorry I busted into your personal space."

The other girl looked embarrassed, then angry. "Yeah, well maybe you shouldn't go running around on rooftops, then."

"I mean, do you have somewhere to live? Can you not get back to your own dimension?" Kamala was kind of worried about her with the Inventor stealing teens in the area. Unfortunately she didn't think she'd be able to take her to the Islamic Resource Centre that helped out their neighbour Mrs Raisani after her husband had a heart attack and she couldn't pay the rent. 

"I could. It's just…complicated right now. And the friend I was staying with moved to LA for a while."

Kamala had a bright idea. "Oh wait, I know! My friend Bruno is house-sitting for his aunt right now. You could stay there for a week or so if you wanted, until you work out your options!"

"My name's America, superhero name Miss America," the girl said, abruptly. "And if this is some kind of Mother trap, I'll punch you so hard you end up in the orbit of the ISS."

Kamala held up her hands. "I'm Ms Marvel and I don't know what you're talking about! That was Mother with a capital M, right?"

"Yeah. Hope you don't need to know more about that." America grabbed her bag and a blanket from her improvised shelter. "Many supervillains around here?"

"Just the one so far, and I haven't finished defeating him yet," Kamala sighed. "Listen, if I get changed and you see my real identity, you won't tell anyone, right? I mean, Bruno knows, you can say it in front of him."

"No problem. I get secret identities."

"Thanks!" Kamala quickly got changed and, with some trepidation, removed her mask. To her surprise, America looked more at the mask than at her face.

"Nice mask. Good coverage." 

"Thanks! Only, it has problems if it gets wet. I always worry about it coming off."

"Have you ever heard of sock glue? A friend of mine swears by it."

Kamala and America climbed down from the roof and walked over to Bruno's aunt's house, which was only two blocks from Kamala's. Kamala waved to a few of her neighbours – she didn't mind if they reported back to her mother that she was hanging out with another girl. It's when they didn't report and her mother's imagination ran wild that there were problems. Like grounding, and interrogations, and maybe even loss of computer privileges. 

It was great to talk to another teenage superhero. America had been brought up with the idea that she should go fight for justice, and Kamala found it really funny that she was rebelling against it.

"But you look like you'd be a great superhero! I mean, you're really fit, and you kicked that stone like a mile down the street, and probably you have superpowers!"

"Yeah, but so do lots of people, and they don't go around saving the world. I mean, I did, but not on purpose. A friend of mine got into trouble, you know?"

"Oh yeah, I definitely know."

Bruno would be at his regular shift at the Circle Q right now, but Kamala knew where the hidden key was. His aunt didn't like electronic security systems (or cable TV) because she thought they gave children cancer, so they'd be all clear on that front. 

Walking up to the front door, Kamala heard a noise inside the house. Someone was walking around in there.

"Shh!" she told America. "Someone's in the house!"

"Not this Bruno guy? Or his aunt?" America asked. She seemed very casual about the whole possible burglary situation.

Kamala thought about it for a moment. "Well, maybe. I'll check it out."

She crept around to the side of the house, and lengthened her legs to peer in a window. America was right: it wasn't a burglar. It was Bruno's no-good younger brother Vick. Vick owed Ms Marvel about a million favours for saving him from the Inventor, but unfortunately Vick didn't know that Ms Marvel and Kamala were one and the same. She decided to take the direct route, and headed back to where America was waiting.

"Not a burglar!" she told America cheerfully, and rang the doorbell. "Vick! I know you're in there! This is Kamala! Bruno sent me!"

"Uh…hang on!" Vick yelled back. "Hang on a minute!"

"He's got someone in there, for sure." America shrugged. "Bad timing."

"Well, his aunt would definitely not approve." Kamala banged on the door. "Vick!"

Vick opened the door, but he appeared to be all alone. "'Sup, Kamala?" He caught sight of America. "'Sup, Kamala's hot friend?"

America scowled at him. "Just keep in mind that I can punch you from here to the back yard."

He raised his hands. "No problem, I've got enough street-fighting women in my life already."

"Street-fighting women?" Kamala asked.

"Yeah, that Ms Marvel chick wants me for her sidekick or something. I helped her out, anyway."

"Huh, didn't know she was looking for a sidekick," America said with a perfectly straight face, then pushed right past Vick into the house.

"Hey!" Vick tried in vain to stop her.

"What are you even doing in here, Vick? It's supposed to be Bruno looking after the house, not you." Kamala frowned at him and followed America inside.

"Nothing! Just, nothing!" Vick protested.

"Why is there a big green cocoon in your kitchen then?" America called out from the end of the hallway. 

"Oh, jeez, just…don't touch it!" Vick yelled, and sprinted down the hall with Kamala on his heels.

Under the kitchen table was a large green pod, faintly glowing. Vick had tried to arrange the tablecloth so that it wasn't visible, but he'd failed miserably. 

"Doesn't your aunt even have a closet you can hide this in?" America asked scornfully.

"I tried! It's too wide!"

"Oh, I've heard about these!" Kamala felt strangely drawn to it. "Some people just turned into pods a few weeks ago, and they eventually hatch out with superpowers."

"Where did you hear that?" Vick looked appalled. "Hey, you mean there's a person in this thing?"

Kamala shook her head. "You know I follow superhero news, Vick, keep up. The Avengers rescued some pods that had been stolen from a hospital." She had a terrible thought. "This pod…is it your aunt? Is the whole cruise story just a cover-up?"

"No! Nothing like that. Auntie Giulia really did go on a cruise. But…did Bruno tell you about when I got busted by Ms Marvel?"

"No, he didn't," Kamala said, interested in what Vick might have to say about it. America rolled her eyes at Kamala, but said nothing.

"Well, I owed someone a lot of money, right, so I tried to rob the Circle Q. Not for real, I was just hanging out telling Bruno to pretend I robbed the place, but he wouldn't go for it."

"Yeah, because he has half an ounce of common sense, Vick."

"Anyway, Ms Marvel showed up and busted me, but I got away. Then she started following me around to find the guys I owed money to, and tried to make me be her sidekick."

"I think someone wants to be a sidekick. Wants it real bad," America teased, and Vick blushed bright red, to Kamala's slow-dawning horror. Vick had a crush on Ms Marvel!

"That doesn't explain why you've got a pod under your table," Kamala managed to stammer out.

"Oh, right, yeah, well I still owe the money. So they said if I babysit this pod for a week, the debt is up. They found it down by the river, you know, where the parties are?"

Kamala knew. That was where she had been exposed to the weird fog that activated her Inhuman gene and superpowers. If this person had been exposed to the same thing, maybe they were an Inhuman too.

"Vick, that's kidnapping. There's somebody alive in there."

"No-one's hurting them! They just need a safe place to put the pod for a while because Ms Marvel keeps busting up their hideout and their robot security system."

"She's a real trouble-maker," America said, unhelpfully.

Kamala folded her arms. "You still can't keep the pod."

"They'll kill me if I turn it in!"

"I've got an idea," America said. "We street-fighting women all know each other. So what if I get a message to Ms Marvel and she comes and takes the pod? That way it's not your fault."

"I don't know, man…" Vick sounded very nervous. "If I screw up again, I'm in big trouble."

"How much do you owe them, anyway?"

"Like, three hundred bucks." 

"Hmmph. I know this girl who's got plenty of money and I've got the security code to her old apartment. Her dad's cut her off but for sure there's at least three hundred bucks just lying around the place that she didn't bother to take. Bet she regrets that now."

Vick and Kamala must have both looked shocked, because America added, 

"She's from Manhattan."

"Oh, okay," Vick shrugged. "If you can get the money, we're all good."

"Back in a minute." America raised one foot, and to Kamala's horror, kicked the wall. 

Vick screeched, "No! Auntie Giulia will kill –" 

Instead of a big hole in the drywall, a star made of light appeared on the wall and America leapt right through it and vanished.

"Woah." Vick sounded as stunned as Kamala felt. "Cool girlfriend you've got."

"She's not my girlfriend! I'm not allowed to date boys, let alone girls!" Kamala yelled at him.

"Hey, chill, whatever. If she's going to get me out of trouble I'll call her whatever you like."

Kamala sighed. "Are you going to go looking for more trouble? You know it worries Bruno."

"Hey! I don't look for trouble! It looks for me! I never asked to be a sidekick!"

"I thought she defeated you. Wouldn't that make you a villain?" Kamala asked.

"You superhero nerds are so black-and-white." Vick waved a hand. "We're past all that."

Before Kamala could give up her secret identity just to yell at Vick, a star appeared on the wall again and America tumbled out of it. Kamala caught her: she smelled of burning tyres, and was warm and heavy. 

"You okay?" Kamala helped her back to her feet. 

"Yeah, all good. I jump through other dimensions when I do that. Some of them are a bit hinky."

"More like stinky," Vick corrected.

"Here's three hundred bucks." America shoved the bills into his hand. "Go settle up. I heard Ms Marvel's on her way. Unless you want to hang around and have her find out you were involved in people smuggling."

"Uh, no, I'll go." Vick took the cash and turned to leave. "Kamala, will you lock up? Bruno and Auntie Giulia will kill me if the house gets robbed."

"Of course I will," Kamala told him. "And I'll say hi to Ms Marvel for you."

Vick laughed. "Big surprise you're hanging around for a superhero sighting! See ya."

Once the door slammed behind him, America grinned widely. "A sidekick, hey? How's that working out for you?"

"He is not my sidekick!"

"Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that. Now, how are we going to get this pod to someone who can look after it?"

"That's the easy part. Lockjaw!"

"Huh?" America looked totally confused as Kamala pushed her back out of the kitchen to make room, but the sudden appearance of the enormous Inhuman dog explained everything. "Hey, you didn't say you had a real sidekick!"

Kamala rushed over to hug his giant head. "Lockjaw! You're the best sidekick ever! Way better that Vick!" 

Lockjaw panted and drooled cheerfully and Kamala showed him the pod under the table. 

"There's a person in here and I don't know if they're okay. Do you think you could take it to Doctor Vinatos? He'll be able to help them."

Lockjaw nosed at the pod then barked once and disappeared along with the pod. The kitchen seemed weirdly empty without him. 

"Cool dog," America adjusted Aunt Giulia's tablecloth where Vick had tried to cover up his crime. "Nice house, too."

"I think you'll be fine here until your friend comes back." Kamala tidied a few knick-knacks that Lockjaw had inadvertently knocked down. "Or maybe you could live in her apartment? If you don't want to stay here?"

America shook her head. "Nah, her dad owns the place and if she doesn't feel good there, I'm not going to. Thanks for letting me stay here, though. Hey, you want some fighting tips?"

"Yes!" Kamala was thrilled. "I really, really need help with that! One afternoon with Wolverine just isn't enough! Besides, we spent a third of the time eating gyros and another third digesting, which didn't leave a whole lot of time for training."

"Sounds like my kind of teacher." America grinned. "And my kind of dinner. But let's get the training done first."

"Awesome!"

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to st_aurafina for the beta!


End file.
